Falling To Pieces
by elenascupcake
Summary: The smart, sexy and sophisticated Elena Gilbert works as a journalist with the ass Damon Salvatore (who happens to be her very attractive boss). With so much history between these two love birds, what happens on the tragic day of September 11th 2001?
1. Chapter 1

Elena rolled onto her side and let out a groan at the noise of her alarm clock bleeping. She glimpsed at the time on her alarm clock and saw it read 5:00am. With a mighty smash, Elena threw her alarm clock on the floor to shut it up. She normally was fine at waking up in the morning, it is just that this week had been really busy for her, and with only two days before the weekend, she really just wanted to sleep.

With not very much enthusiasm, she managed to lug herself out of bed with her eyes half open and walk toward her bathroom, located only a few meters away from her bed. The apartment she lived in was small and cosy. Well that is what she told herself anyway. It was affordable and it was big enough for her and her cheeky cat, Moke.

After her refreshing shower, Elena slipped her hair into a messy bun, squeezed into her favourite tight black dress, and slipped on a pair of black heels to travel to work in.

"Moke, I love you too ok?" Elena mumbled as she was applying her mascara as Moke stared up at Elena in need on some love and affection. Moke meowed and jumped up onto her bed which was nice and warm from Elena's body.

"Fuck!" Elena shouted as she stabled herself in the eye with her mascara brush.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit" Elena kept repeating while running towards to bathroom to grab some tissue. Moke looked puzzled but really didn't care. He crawled up towards Elena's pillow, tucked his small head underneath and was surrounded by the warmth.

Elena emerged from the bathroom having dealt with her make-up emergency and caught Moke jumping onto her bedside table, knocking over a glass of water.

"Moke seriously, you are one silly cat!" Elena chuckled while walking over to her bedside table to pick up the glass. While picking up the glass, she saw her alarm clock in the corner of her eye and saw it read 6:00am.

"Shit! Is that the time?" Elena hastily grabbed her purse, shoved her lip gloss and phone inside, grabbed her keys and slammed the door of her apartment, probably waking up half of the people in the apartment block.

Elena headed for her favourite local cafe in Brooklyn, where she would order her daily choice of a muffin and a coffee before hopping on the train to Lower Manhattan.

"Hey Bonnie! Yeah just the usual brekkie to takeaway please." Elena exclaimed while walking over towards the counter.

"Coming right up! How are you today Lena? You look really exhausted by the fact that you haven't washed your hair and you look like you have been punched in the face with a mascara brush". Bonnie chuckled.

Elena let out a light laugh. Bonnie was one of Elena's best friends in New York. When she had moved from Mystic Falls three years ago, Bonnie had been the first person who really understood Elena and what she was going through. Bonnie understood the fact that Elena couldn't live in Mystic Falls anymore due to the fact that her parents died in a car accident, so she offered Elena a place to stay for a couple of weeks before she decided to rent her own apartment. Elena had always felt guilty for causing her parents death because she was the one driving the car when it crashed. Mystic Falls was just too filled with bad memories to keep living there.

"Thanks for the confidence booster Bon! I slept in too late this morning and then Moke knocked over a glass of water and I didn't have time to eat anything so I am really cranky and work is kind of the last thing on my mind right now" Elena sighed after she finished her long rant, feeling out of breath.

"Woah, Lena take three deep breathes for me ok?" Bonnie said while handing Elena her coffee and blueberry muffin. "This one's on me today? Go to work, enjoy your free breakfast and I will come over tonight and we can order takeout and watch some soppy movies? Ok?"

"Bonnie, at least let me give you some money fo..."Elena was cut off.

"No, no, no, Goodbye Elena! Have a nice day at work!" Bonnie shouted while pushing Elena out of the cafe. Bonnie often did this, gave her a free breakfast because she knew how tight money was for Elena. Elena always felt guilty for not paying, but Bonnie was her best friend, and she loved her for everything that she did.

Elena sighed and walked into the subway station. Taking a sip of coffee, Elena realised that it was particularly windy today and that she should have brought a scarf or a jumper. The weather was cooling down, which was weird because it was August, and normally it was hot in August.

"Why the hell did I wear a dress?" Elena thought to herself.

When the train finally approached the platform, Elena squeezed into one of the tight spaces of the train carriage, where her small, fragile body could fit. The trains were always so busy in the mornings. Elena once dropped her coffee on someone's lap, and decided not to take that particular train for a couple of weeks just in case she saw the man again. Elena was funny like this, quite clumsy, but strong willed and feisty.

Elena worked as an editor in one of New York's leading local magazines _Times Square Daily_. She had worked here for a total of 3 years now, getting this job as soon as she arrived in New York. She had no idea why she automatically got the job three years ago, but Elena thought about it, and she agreed it probably came down to the fact that her ass of a boss, Damon Salvatore liked women, all women, all women who had long legs and boobs. Elena kept her distance away from that man because of the stories she heard every day at the office.

Caroline Forbes, her partner in editing, always told Elena about who were the victims of Damon's club... and by club, she meant the women he has slept with. Caroline was one of Elena's other best friends however; she was very different to Bonnie. Caroline was blonde and quite ditzy, and loved fashion and pink. She was a very strong willed girl who knew what she wanted and would never let a man get in her way of anything. Caroline learnt the hard way when she fell into Damon's women web 9 months ago, and ended up sleeping with him in his office at the end of year party. Ever since then Caroline vowed to stay off men, and Elena was agreeing to that. Elena would not be one of Damon's victims.

Damon and Elena had a complicated relationship. After Damon used Caroline for sex at the end of year party, Elena ended up slapping Damon in front of the whole company. Then came the incident when they were paired as partners for a local story, and that certainly didn't go down well.

The train approached the platform at the World Trade Center station, and a crowd of people exited the train, Elena squeezed her way through the crowd of people, and jumped onto the platform off the train with her dainty feet.

After coming up from the smoky underground, Elena took a deep breath of the fresh city air, and stared up at the two parallel towers in front of her. Stepping forward, she walked towards the lobby in the North Tower. After the journey up in the elevator, she turned left and saw Caroline at her own desk and awkwardly ran towards her in her heels. Elena threw her purse on her messy desk which happened to be next to Caroline's, and Elena gave her a huge hug.

"Care! How was Los Angeles?" Elena asked. Caroline had been on a work trip for the last three weeks, and Elena has missed not seeing Care, because she had the one and only annoying Katherine Pierce who would always talk to her and would piss her off over asking about if her hair looked pretty or not.

"I am so fucking tired. Los Angeles is a bitch" Caroline responded. "We should go and get some coffee later on this afternoon, ok?"

"That's if I'm not too busy. I have a heap of stuff to do and I am really behind, and I am kind of freaking out because I don't want to get anymore behind and..."Elena explained frantically before being interrupted by Caroline's voice.

"Elena, you are doing it again. Calm the fuck down! I was speaking to Bonnie and she says you have been really stressed over the last few days. Everything is going to be ok!" Caroline smiled and gave her best friend another hug. "It's all gonna be ok Lena".

"Excuse me ladies I don't mean to interrupt this heartfelt moment" a deep voice bellowed from in front of them.

Elena and Caroline let go of each other to see Damon Salvatore dressed in a suit looking rather handsome. Elena thought he looked rather attractive with his top button undone and his hair all rough and messy.

"Welcome back Forbes, pleasure to have you back here and working" Damon smirked while winking at her.

"I wish I could say the same about you Salvatore" Caroline said before walking off down the corridor.

"Gilbert, my office, five minutes" Damon smirked again.

Damon turned around and walked towards his office and shut the door forcefully. Elena managed to sit down in her chair and place her purse properly on her desk. Elena opened her laptop to see what she had on for the day and after a couple of minutes pondering, she made her way towards Damon's office.

Her tiny fingers knocked on the door and she heard a bellowing voice from behind: "Come in".

Elena opened the door to observe Damon's office. Damon regularly invited Elena inside his office. He didn't do it with many of his employees, but Elena seemed to be in there quite regularly.

"What do you want?" Elena said bluntly.

"Well aren't you bright and bubbly this morning!" Damon responded sarcastically.

"I'm serious, I have so much work to do Damon and I don't need to be in here for the sake of it and your enjoyment". Elena said.

"Oh trust me honey, I don't enjoy you being in my office" Damon chuckled to himself.

"So, what do you want?" Elena repeated.

There was a pause from Damon and then silence throughout his office.

"Your bra is showing" Damon smirked while staring at Elena's lacy black bra popping through her dress.

"Fuck off" Elena said while turning around and heading for the door.

"Wait, fine, I'm sorry, come and sit down, I have something to tell you" Damon explained.

Elena sighed deeply before turning around and heading back towards his desk. Elena's dress now was getting closer and closer to showing her underwear and she felt quite violated. Her legs stretched out of miles and Damon couldn't help but stare at her beautiful tanned, sun kissed legs.

"Eyes up here grandpa" Elena snapped. "What do you want? You have one more try at this ok?"

"Sit" Damon pointed towards a chair in front of his desk. Elena steadily walked towards the chair and sat down, and placed one of her knees over the other.

"The board wants me to do another story about homelessness in this area of New York" Damon explained.

"What? Like in Manhattan?" Elena responded.

"Yeah, in Manhattan, Madison Avenue, around that area. Upper East Side."

Damon stared at Elena's messy hair and noticed how sexy it looked. Pieces of flimsy hair tricked down her delicate face, and the rest of her hair was in a top knot. To Damon, there was always something attractive about a girl who looked sexy without trying. Damon suddenly stopped staring at her hair when she realised Elena was yelling at him.

"Hello? Hello? DAMON!" Damon jumped in his seat.

"Uh Sorry." Damon said.

"Jesus Christ, Why am I in here? Why are you telling me about this project? Elena yelled.

Damon recovered from his mini heart attack caused by a feisty Elena.

"Because they want me to do it with someone. This isn't a one person job Elena. I needed to choose someone to do it with"

Elena looked quite stunned because Damon looked quite vulnerable at this moment.

"Why don't you ask Katherine? She is obsessed with you and I am sure you will end up sleeping with her while on this mission. That's an added bonus" Elena smirked.

"Uh, Katherine annoys the shit out of me, I would rather do it with someone like you, who shows me her black lacy bra" Damon winked and stared down at Elena's boobs.

Elena jumped up from her seat and headed towards to door without saying anything.

"Hey Elena, I'm sorry! Wait!" Damon shouted.

Elena opened the door of Damon's office and turned around slowly and caught Damon's deep blue eyes.

"Will you at least think about it?" Damon said innocently.

"You're an ass Salvatore" Elena smiled.

"And you have a nice ass Gilbert" Damon chuckled.


	2. Chapter 2

_In italics are flashbacks_

* * *

Damon walked through a spacious dark office room and sat down silently in a plush arm chair. He was directed to the chair by an intimidating man sitting behind a desk in a room where the walls were smothered in bookcases. There were a few more arm chairs circling the large wooden desk in the centre of the room. Damon fiddled with his fingers which were sweating and he sat nervously, wondering what was about to happen. The man sitting at his desk looked up from his laptop and stared at Damon intensely.

"Salvatore! This is just not good enough!" The man's voice echoed through Damon's ears. Damon always had to be on best behaviour around this man, or he truly would get kicked out of his job.

"Salvatore! I am talking to you! You need to your act together or there will be consequences!" The man's voice continued while pointing to a pile of paperwork which seemed to be toppling over on his desk.

Damon zoned his brain out for a moment. He knew that this man who was yelling at him could change everything. He was the real deal. This man was the head of everything. He was his boss and if Damon fucked up, then things would not go down smoothly.

"I am counting on you to pull this new story off. It is your last chance because I have had it with you! This is your last chance or you're fired!" The man shoved the loose papers on the floor and they cascaded in front of him.

Damon wondered to himself where it all went wrong. How had he let it get all so out of hand? He was lazy. He did sleep around. He flirted with girls when they didn't want to be flirted with. He knew he was a horrible person. But Damon liked being the way he way. He liked being the horrible one. He put on a brave face and everyone who would lay eyes on him would think to themselves that he was the luckiest man in the world. He had a great job, the ladies loved him, and he had unlimited amounts of money. What else could anyone want? But, deep down Damon felt empty.

"So, did you find a partner for your new mission Salvatore like I asked? You need to be starting imminently!" The man bellowed.

"Yeah, I'm working on it." Damon responded.

The man let out a deep sigh and it seemed as if he wasn't angry anymore, but disappointed instead.

"You have one month Salvatore, or you're gone" The man said after what seemed like an agonising couple of minutes.

Damon stood up not feeling so confident about what was to come in the future and he walked towards the door. He quietly shut it and sighed to himself.

"Fucking fantastic" Damon mumbled as he walked off.

Elena sat at her desk the following day after her encounter in Damon's office and was wondering about his proposition that he had offered her. She did not want to go anywhere near him. He was a bad influence on her and made her go crazy in ways never before. She couldn't even decide if being around him was good or bad for her. But, working with him for a whole month? She couldn't do that! Elena knew that she was going to have to spend a lot more time with Damon anyway ever since Caroline announced her engagement to Damon's brother, Stefan Salvatore. This had come as a shock to Elena after finding out about the engagement. Caroline still hadn't come to terms with the fact that Damon would be her brother in law in less than a month.

"What'cha thinking about Lena" Caroline interrupted Elena trace of thought. Elena caught eye on Caroline's engagement ring. It was breathtaking and glimmered in the morning light.

"Do you really have to be engaged to Stefan, Care?" Elena wondered.

Caroline started laughing hysterically before calming down and wiping her tears of happiness from her eyes.

"Lena, so you are telling me that I can't marry the love of my life, all because you have the hots for his brother and you don't want to be around him" Caroline finished and laughed some more.

"Care! I never said I have the hots for Damon!" Elena retorted.

"I know, but I can tell that you do." Caroline responded.

Elena rolled her eyes and turned back to her laptop in which she pretended to type things.

"No denying honey!" Caroline said smugly after a couple of awkward seconds.

Elena continued to ignore Caroline while observing the random words she had just written down in her search bar when her mind began to wonder to the events of last night with Bonnie.

* * *

_Bonnie knocked on the door of Elena's apartment and Moke scampered over to the door meowing like a cat on steroids. _

_"Coming Bon! Hold on!" Elena said as she walked over towards the door in the midst of tripping over Moke._

_"Fuck!" Elena yelled. _

_Elena managed to open the door while on the floor after tripping over._

_"I see your coordination is no different to this morning then" Bonnie laughed._

_"Har har, very funny" Elena said sarcastically._

_"So I got your text, what's up Lena?" Bonnie questioned._

_Elena grabbed a takeout menu from the shelf in her cramped kitchen, while also knocking over a few plates._

_"Well I will sort those out later. First let's order takeout! Chinese food? I know it's your favourite!" Elena smiled cheerfully._

_Elena handed over the menu to Bonnie and she scanned it with her chestnut brown eyes. _

_"Yeah, just order what we get normally!" Bonnie said after a few minutes of observing the menu._

_For Elena, this was quite a regular thing to do with Bonnie. Elena had Moke to keep her company, but when she faced the facts, Elena was alone in the apartment and Moke was... well, a cat. So she enjoyed it when Bonnie came around to comfort her. They would order pizza or Chinese food and watch silly romantic comedies while crying about the fact that they have no love life. It was good for them to do this. It was good for both of them._

_The food arrived imminently and they both sat down on the couch to watch a movie. _

_"Elena this is the second time I have come over this week, so you really need to tell me what is bothering you. Do you want to talk?" Bonnie questioned. Bonnie always knew when there was something up with Elena. Three years of listening to Elena cry about how she killed her parents and about how she missed them, it was enough to know when Elena was upset and when she needed comfort._

_Elena ignored Bonnie while eating another spoonful of rice. _

_"Hey! I'm talking to you Lena!" Bonnie said sounding worried. Bonnie put the film on pause while putting her plate down before facing Elena. Elena put her plate down on the table in front of her after Bonnie and sighed. _

_"I am in a situation Bon. I need money. I can't keep living like this". Elena glimpsed around her apartment. She could see her compact kitchen and her bed with Moke lying on it, and then her small table with a couple of chairs. Then of course at the end of the room was her bathroom, definitely not even big enough for her to fit into._

_"An opportunity has come up, and I will be earning more money and I think it may get me back in a stable position financially."_

_Bonnie stared at Elena in confusion._

_"So what is the problem?" Bonnie asked._

_"Because it would mean that I would be working with that guy Damon Salvatore that I have told you about. Like a lot. Like all day everyday for the next month" Elena responded._

_Elena blinked quickly and Bonnie stared at her._

_"Ah yes, Caroline was telling me about him. The one you find extremely attractive". Bonnie replied._

_"I never said that!" Elena quickly snapped._

_"Then why would it be such a big deal working with him?" Bonnie smiled._

_Elena tried to respond and make a comeback, but she was helpless. She had no response to that._

_"I don't know, I guess because Caroline is marrying Stefan and I will be seeing a lot more of him due to this, and I don't know..." Elena's mumbles trailed off._

_"If it pays well, then do it. Make it clear from the start that you want everything to stay strictly professional. It would be a shame if you didn't do it because of some guy. You know that I am always here for you Lena." Bonnie comforted Elena._

_Elena started to feel tears rolling down her face._

_"Fucking allergies!" Elena responded_

_"It's August, Lena!" Bonnie laughed._

_Elena chuckled and then the girls shared a hug on Elena's very small and worn down red sofa. It wasn't fancy, but it was somewhere to call home._

* * *

"You know when I said take it easy and don't over work yourself, I didn't mean fall asleep at the keyboard and drool all over it Elena!" Damon said as the words emerged from his soft baby lips.

"Fuckety fuck. I am so sorry Damon." Elena squeaked as she sorted out her hair and pulled up her dress.

"Yeah, well back to work." Damon smirked while raising his eyebrows at her.

"Well I will be in my office then!" Damon smiled at Elena and then glanced over at Caroline as he walked off.

"Bye my ass of a future brother in law". Caroline chuckled.

Damon heard Caroline's comment and laughed, however he continued to walk towards his office down the corridor and shut the door firmly behind him.

"Showing a little too much cleavage for my liking Elena. I think you need to buy a new dress." Caroline laughed as she stood up with a file in her hand.

"I'm not the one who has the rich fiancée who can buy me new things, ok?" Elena responded.

"Well someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!" Caroline laughed.

"I need to go talk to Damon about something." Elena quickly said without thinking.

"Well that isn't a good idea." Caroline responded.

Elena ignored Caroline's comments and headed towards the end of the corridor where Damon's office was.

As Elena walked towards Damon's office, she glanced around the 84th floor and saw that people were just getting on with their daily business life.

When she reached his office, Elena's hand rose carefully and she delicately knocked on the door.

"Come in." A deep sexy voice said.

Elena slowly opened the door and walked in shaking. Why was she so scared? Why did she feel so frightened around him? What was it about him that made her feel so nervous?

"Elena?!" Damon seemed confused. "What are you doing here? Can I help you?"

"I have been thinking. Thinking all night and I have decided that I am going to help you with this new story. I will do it with you." Elena swallowed.

Damon's face lit up and he stood up to go and put a few papers and documents away on the other side of his office.

"Are you being serious?" Damon questioned after putting away his documents.

"As a heart attack." Elena laughed.

"But I want you to know one thing... before we start". Elena continued as Damon slowly walked towards her, and was eventually only a few inches away from her face.

"This is serious. No mucking about." Elena continued as she stared at his soft lips. His hair was hot and sweaty from working all day in the heat. His eyes captivated her. She was drawn to them.

"This is work. Nothing more, nothing less." Elena swallowed again.

"Nothing more, nothing less." Damon said slowly.

Damon returned to his desk and sat down while observing Elena's nervous state.

Elena regained her composure and headed towards the door.

"Yep, Monday" Elena coughed.

* * *

**AN: Oh god I am so sorry that I didn't update sooner. I relapsed in the week and collapsed and it was pretty scary. I apologise again. I hope to update weekly. Maybe even twice a week. Leave reviews please. It means so much for your feedback. If you have any questions, review and I will answer you. Love you all xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**PLEASE READ:**

**AN: I apologise for not updating. I moved house this week and I am still battling with my demons and my depression, so I haven't been motivated to do anything. I am so so sorry enjoy this chapter! Remember to review if you have any advice for me. Also, I do not know much about New York, so if I get anything wrong, please tell me. :)**

**I CHANGED MY LAST CHAPTER SLIGHTLY. PLEASE RE-READ IF YOU HAVE THE TIME. (I realised that Damon was OOC at the end and so was Elena & there were many spelling mistakes etc. I am sorry again)**

**NOTE: tw blood in the chapter.**

_**italics are flashbacks (around about 6 months ago)**_

* * *

Monday came around quite quickly after a lazy and effortless weekend for Elena. She knew that today was her first day working with Damon and her head suddenly filled with worry.

The sun rose across the New York Skyline, and Elena's apartment was filled with light. Elena glanced over her pillow and saw that Moke was curled up next to her head.

"Morning!" Elena smiled while stroking Moke over the top of his head.

Moke seemed to ignore Elena's actions and he curled back down deep into the pillows.

Elena let out a sigh, staring at her ceiling, wondering what the week would bring her. She was quite hesitant to be working with Damon, and she couldn't bring herself to remember her past with him. She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts that appeared in her mind and then leaped out of her bed.

* * *

"So, Elena, please tell me you have something fun and slutty panned for the bachelorette party!" Caroline squealed.

Elena laughed and then smiled, still not revelealing anything.

"Can I please just have a clue?" Caroline continued.

Elena smiled some more and placed some paperwork on her desk.

Elena and Bonnie had been planning Caroline's bachelorette party for weeks now. Strippers and pole dancing were definitely in order, but Caroline was not to know anything until the night of the party. Caroline had worked so hard in the last year. She had planned for months and months making sure her wedding would be perfect and that every last detail was sorted. Caroline was to be married in a few weeks, and to make sure that Caroline stress was at its lowest, Elena and Bonnie planned everything.

"Fine! At least tell me what to wear!" Caroline yelled.

"Care, it's a bachelorette party, what do you think you should wear? Maybe no clothes at all?!" Elena winked cheekily.

"Very funny!" Caroline responded sarcastically."So, how is mission Salvatore going?"

"Oh yeah, it is actually going ok. We need to go do some interviews this morning, and then come back here and plan out what we will be going over the next few months." Elena said.

"Lena, how is mission _Salvatore_ going?" Caroline repeated.

Elena stared at Caroline in confusion and then came to realisation about what she was actually asking.

"Oh Caroline! Spying up on Damon are you?" Elena laughed.

"I'm not! He's an ass!" Caroline blurted before standing up with paper work in her hands.

"I know he is an ass! But, he is going to be your brother-in-law soon, and he is our boss, so maybe you should think about making peace with him?." Elena said.

Caroline let out a sudden burst of laughter and walked off down the hallway.

Elena slumped down at her desk and nestled her head in her arms.

* * *

_The office halls were dark and empty as Elena typed away at her keyboard, rushing to get her article done that was due in the morning. The city was black; however lights were lit down the street. It was convenient to be able to stay in the office after hours, and Elena considered maybe even living in her office, as it seemed to be easier to live there. The tapping of her computer keypad crawled its way into her head, so she headed down the hallway to grab a glass of water, only to notice a feint light in Damon's office._

_Elena realised that Damon must have stayed in late too, and walked on past his office. She grabbed her glass of water, and headed back to her desk._

_One more hour passed and the words on the screen were a blur and she began to fall asleep at her chair, and so Elena decided to make her way back to her apartment._

_Elena gathered her handbag, her phone and some paperwork and headed for the elevator. When she passed Damon's office again, she noticed that the light was still on. Elena heard the elevator reach her floor, hesitated for a minute, before she turned back at walked towards Damon's office._

_Elena softly knocked at his door, and waited a few seconds. The room was silent and there was no reply. Elena repeated her soft knocking, but once more, there was no reply. Elena opened the door anyway despite her efforts to be polite, and observed Damon asleep in his armchair next to a pile of files. Elena chucked while walking inside his lair._

_She saw that his computer was still on, screen glaring, and his hand was placed around a glass of bourbon. _

_Elena chuckled again, and smiled while she walked over to his desk, where she turned off his monitor, and moved his files over onto his bookcase. She made her way back to his desk, where she gently shook Damon to awake him._

_"Damon, Damon!" Elena whispered._

_Damon regained consciousness and looked quite dazed to find Elena standing next to him._

_"Wha..? Elena? Why..? What time is it? Did I fall asleep again?" Damon questioned._

_"It's eleven thirty. I was on my way to the elevator when I saw your light was still one, so I decided to come and see if you were ok." Elena replied to his several questions._

_"Why are you here?" Elena heard Damon's voice seem deeper._

_"Uh, I told you. I saw your light and..." Elena was interrupted._

_"You shouldn't be helping me!" Damon yelled._

_"I'm sorry?" Elena questioned, her face instantly showing a sense of confusion._

_"You should hate me after what I did to Caroline! Why are you here? I'm fine!" Damon snapped._

_Elena stood in front of Damon speechless, shocked at how he had just spoken to her. Elena was willing to help him, and all he could do was be rude in return. Yes, what he did to Caroline was not acceptable, but she thought that there was hope for him, she thought she could see a different side to him. _

_"Next time, wake yourself up asshole." Elena replied and stormed out the office door._

_"Hey! Elena! ELENA! COME BACK HERE!" Damon yelled at the sound of the door slam in front of him._

_Damon heard the elevator leave the 84__th__ floor, and he walked over to his desk with his bourbon and his alcohol breath, talking a deep sigh and slumping into his chair._

* * *

"Hello sunshine! Ready for the day ahead?" Damon's voice echoed through Elena's head.

Elena groaned and shuffled herself around on her chair to face Damon.

"Monday's really aren't my thing." Elena replied.

"Well good thing I have breakfast. Coffee and a muffin, your favourite, I recall?" Damon smirked.

Elena stared at him suspiciously.

"You're welcome! Now hurry up and eat fast, we have a lot of work to do today!" Damon explained as he walked away.

Elena drank her coffee and ate her muffin and feeling more energised, she headed to the Damon's office.

"So, what are we doing today?" Elena questioned.

"Well sweetie, today we are heading to the homeless shelter in Brooklyn, just so we get an idea of what the next months look like." Damon chirped.

"We have pet names now? What's next? Kitten? Honey?" Elena said sarcastically.

Damon smirked and brushed past Elena.

"Where are you going Damon?" Elena questioned.

"To the limo waiting downstairs, how else are we going to get to Brooklyn?" Damon chuckled.

Elena's mouth parted open in shock while she glared at Damon's eyes filled with glee.

Elena had never been in a limousine before, and she thought that the destination being a homeless shelter seemed to be rather ironic.

They pulled up outside the shelter which seemed to be in rather nice condition for its title and they made their way outside the building.

"Damon? What's the plan for today?" Elena wondered.

"I am not really sure yet. Just talk to some people. Charm them with your bubbly personality, do something!" Damon chuckled.

The two made their way through the front to a small desk where a large black lady sat writing scribbling in a note pad.

"Are you lost?" The woman questioned.

"We are here to do a report on this area of town. And we were wondering if we could just look around, maybe talk to a few people?" Elena stepped in from behind Damon.

The lady stared down at her paper and glared back up again.

"I'm sorry. And you are?" The woman's voice bellowed.

"I am Damon Salvatore and this is my co worker, Elena Gilbert!" Damon said while sounding proud.

The lady titled her head to the left, signalling that was the way they should go.

Damon smiled and Elena thanked the woman, as they walked down the corridor to their left.

"Hide your Chanel bag sweetie!" Damon laughed.

"Damon! These people are not savages! They are not savages! And I don't even own a Chanel bag!" Elena playfully knocked Damon on the arm.

"Honey, I was joking!" Damon chuckled.

"Just fucking stop with these pet names".

Damon rolled his eyes and continued down the dark hall, when a door appeared in front of their eyes.

"So, I guess this is it?" Elena said.

Damon opened the door to see a huge hall filled with men and women talking. There were benches laid all across the room and in the corner was a cafeteria where hot meals were being served.

"Uh, it stinks in here." Damon gagged.

"Seriously, shut up Damon." Elena scowled.

Elena began to walk around the hall and smiled and stopped to chat to a few people. However, Damon wasn't so keen to do the same.

Elena continued to write things down in her little notepad, and she smiled while enjoying conversation with others, learning about their stories and their tales that they had to tell.

Fifteen minutes passed, and while Elena was mid conversation with someone, she saw Damon leave the room and walk down the hallway.

"Excuse me one second" Elena said to a man while excusing herself from a table.

Elena ran down the hallway with her long, silky hair flying everywhere, catching up to Damon outside the shelter.

"What the hell are you doing?" Elena questioned.

"We shouldn't be here Elena." Damon replied.

"What? Why?" Elena continued.

"Because my job shouldn't consist of interviewing homeless people! I should be out making a difference and I am here with _you_ talking to homeless men in a room that smells like dead cats!" Damon snapped.

Elena's face turned to shock.

"Here with_ me? _How dare you be this disrespectful to those people in there!What the fuck is wrong with you?" Elena blurted.

"It shouldn't be doing this Elena!" Damon said.

Elena turned around in complete shock and walked away hastily trying to avoid the crowd of people in her way.

"Elena get in the limo!" Damon yelled. "Elena, ELENA!"

"I'll walk home!" Elena screamed.

Elena ran off into the sea of congestion and Damon stood restless and angry by the limousine.

He screamed and punched the limousine window and glass shattered all over the pavement and thick red blood emerged all over his hand.

People stopped and stared and exchanged horrified looks and glances while observing Damon's new state.

"What? What are looking at? Huh? WALK ON!" Damon yelled while blood still covered his hand.

Damon stood there, while beady eyes were upon him. He felt empty and alone. He felt a sense of disappointment in himself. Damon stared at the people who surrounded him, and he felt his heart drop inside. What had he just done?

* * *

**Please review**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Again, I am sorry for not updating sooner. Please review and I will try to answer all of them :)**

* * *

Elena lay on her bed in silence in the early evening staring up at the faded wood that paneled the ceiling of her bedroom. She thought about the events of the previous day and how angry Damon had become overseeing people in that state at the homeless shelter. Why did she feel so upset over this? Why did she just leave him there? Seeing Damon in a state of anger had shocked her. She knew that the anger Damon felt was fear. He had to face the reality of men, women and children living in shelters. They were without a home and none of them knowing when their next meal would be coming. She thought about how all of them probably had jobs at one point, a home, a family, a life...and now nothing.

Elena shook her head and tried clear out the negativity that was swirling around inside her brain. She knew that Damon had lost his mother at a young age and that his father was hard on him to strive at everything he could. She had witnessed many of the horrifying fights between Damon and Giuseppe at work. Elena would hide at her desk trying to ignore the shouting and arguing that took place in Damon's office.

She sighed at the thought of it and rolled onto her side feeling a tear stream down her cheek. Elena had been softly crying for the last hour. But Damon was the least of her worries. _Today was that day. That day that changed everything three years ago._

Elena rolled onto her back once more to stare at the dull ceiling, when her train of thought was interrupted by a sudden banging at the door.

She let out a loud groan while throwing the covers off herself and onto the floor while managing to lift her dainty body out bed.

"Coming!" Elena yelled from her bedroom.

Elena walked towards the door still half asleep with bloodshot eyes from crying. She opened the door with very little enthusiasm to see Caroline and Bonnie standing at the door while holding pizza and a bunch of movies which were bound to be Bonnie's pick of romantic comedies.

"LENA!" Caroline yelled out loudly. After a few seconds of standing in the doorway, she spotted Elena's pyjama attire and saw her bloodshot eyes.

"Woah, are you ok Elena?" Bonnie asked.

Elena wiped her eyes with her pyjama sleeve and tied her hair in a quick top knot before grabbing the pizza box and DVD's off the girls.

"I'm fine. I'm even better now you're here." Elena squealed.

Caroline's face showed a confused expression and Bonnie glanced into Elena's apartment to see that last night's dinner was still lying by the sofa.

"Why are you just standing there guys? We have a lot of movies to watch tonight!" Elena said while blatantly ignoring the girls concern for her.

Caroline and Bonnie slowly observed Elena's apartment to see dirty dishes laid out all over the kitchen and blankets that were messily piled up on her sofa.

"Well someone isn't feeling very domestic today!" Bonnie joked.

Elena let out a soft laugh and placed the DVD's down by the TV.

"So, which movie are we watching first?" Elena questioned.

She scanned through the selection of DVD's and pondered over which she was in the mood for.

"Love Actually or the Ugly Truth?" Elena looked down at her final choices in her hands and she looked up to see a concerned Caroline and Bonnie.

"Elena, we know you have had a rough few days." Bonnie started.

"But you can't just avoid this. _You can't avoid today_." Caroline continued looking heartbroken.

Elena stared down at the DVD's that lay in her hands and she felt her insides grow numb. She felt her eyes start to swell up and she placed the movies down on the table in front of her and slowly sat down on the floor out of despair. Elena felt empty inside. She didn't have it inside of her to cry, however she felt another single tear role down her cheek.

Elena breathed heavily and then sighed.

"It was this time three years ago." Elena began.

"It was today, tonight in fact. I crashed their car with my parents inside." There was a brief pause from Elena.

The room filled with tension and Elena felt her eyes begin to swell up even more. She looked at her two friends in front of her. They seemed just as heartbroken as she was.

"I killed them." Elena started to panic.

Elena couldn't breathe. She felt her throat close up. She needed to escape. Tears were gushing along down her face and they wouldn't stop.

"Elena. Breathe. Take three deep breathes for me, ok?" Caroline rushed to sit down next to Elena where she had collapsed on the floor out of desperation.

"I can't. I can't!" Elena yelled. "I killed them! I killed them!" Elena angrily repeated.

"You can do it. You can! Just breathe!" Caroline embraced her best friend while also comforting her.

Elena continued to uncontrollably sob and shout out for help to anyone who would listen. She felt invisible.

Bonnie lay down on the other side of Elena and handed her a glass of water.

After taking a sip of water, and following Caroline's advice, Elena's heavy breathing gradually slowed down and her tears eventually stopped.

"There we go." Caroline smiled at Elena's face and pulled a lock of hair from her face.

"You are so strong Elena." Bonnie said.

"And we will always be here for you." Caroline said while starting to feel teary herself.

Elena regained her composure and she wiped the tears from her face. She felt comforted by her friends. She felt at home.

The girls talked for hours discussing Caroline's wedding and their excitement for the bachelorette party. Bonnie and Elena still squealed over the fact that Caroline knew nothing.

They eventually cuddled down on the sofa together and Elena glanced over at the time.

The clock on the bookcase read 12am.

"Guys it is 12am!" Elena stated.

There was a pause.

"Were you really in bed all day?" Bonnie questioned.

"I had Moke to keep my company. Besides, he gives great cuddles !" Elena laughed.

Moke popped his head around the TV and meowed before making his way back to Elena's bedroom.

"Well you girls can crash here for tonight. I am so exhausted with all this stuff that happened at work yesterday..." Elena stopped and thought about yesterday's events.

She imagined Damon yelling at her the day before. She imagined his anger and how she saw tears in his eyes. She imagined walking away from him.

Caroline interrupted Elena's thoughts. "Trouble with Mr Asswipe?" she joked.

Elena chuckled to herself.

"He's fine, I guess. He just got really angry yesterday. It was scary to see him in such a state." Elena mumbled.

Caroline sighed. "It's Damon. What do you expect?"

Bonnie collected the empty pizza box and headed for the kitchen.

"Yeah. I guess so." Elena sighed.

The girls tidied up the living room and cleared their food away before Caroline and Bonnie made camp on the sofa's and Elena snuggled into her bed along with Moke.

* * *

Elena decided to go into work after missing two days at the office. People were very understanding about this time of year for Elena. They knew how hard it was for her to cope with the death of her parents. Especially since her brother took off after the accident and he never showed his face again.

Elena exited the elevator with a strong smile on her face, willing to face the day that was ahead of her. However she was also scared and skeptical. She regretfully wondered about Damon and how he was doing.

She strode past his office in her black pumps, noticing through the window of his door, that there was no one inside.

Elena continued on towards her desk where she spotted Caroline staring out at the New York skyline and its hustle and bustle in the early hours of the morning.

"Care!" Elena squeaked.

She rushed over and gave her a tender embrace.

The girl exchanged an event filled conversation for almost half an hour, continuing their discussion from the other night about the upcoming wedding things and normal Caroline stuff.

Elena noticed that her chat with Caroline had not been interrupted by an angry Salvatore so far, and they were heading for record time with their conversation length.

"So, where's Damon? I saw that he wasn't in his office." Elena wondered.

Caroline sighed deeply.

"Well I was talking to Stefan this morning and he said that he hasn't seen him for days. Not since that outburst that apparently happened with you." She replied.

Elena's face read a sign of concern and her face dropped.

"Oh." She simply replied.

"I'm sure he's fine Lena!" Caroline said chirpily before smiling like a ray of sunshine.

Caroline apologised for her sudden need to get to a meeting and the two parted ways and Elena slumped down at her desk wondering what could have happened to Damon. She knew she shouldn't be worried because, well, it was Damon. She shouldn't be worried about _him!_

* * *

_All Elena had done was simply being concerned for him. He didn't have to be so rude._

_Walking into work the next day was hard for her. She hated being around her ass of a boss. The elevator ride up was long and treacherous just like the one on the way down last night. When she reached the 84__th__ floor, she regretted coming to work that day, however she powered on. Elena saw Damon's office door open and she spotted him slumped at his desk looking tired and full of guilt. She boldly didn't make eye contact and walked straight past him._

_Throughout the day, Elena stayed in her working frame of mind and tried to stay focused, however, she couldn't._

_She fiddled and was restless throughout lunch, but then she finally decided that she wasn't even hungry after all._

_She sighed. Elena seemed to sigh a lot. It was a way to show that she was upset and that something was bothering her._

_And something was._

_She gradually picked herself up from her desk chair and headed towards Damon's office. She questioned her motives on the way and wondered why she kept giving him a chance to explain._

_Knocking didn't seem to be their thing so she barged straight into his office to find a startled Damon who had just dropped a bunch of paperwork._

_"Fuck!" Damon yelled._

_"Oh shit, I'm so sorry... uh... I should just..." Elena stuttered and turned around again, heading for the corridor._

_"Hang on wait!" Damon replied while he gathered the rest of his paper work off the floor._

_"I owe you an apology Elena." Damon started._

_"I know you do." Elena stated while folding her arms._

_"I don't know what to say. Apart from I'm sorry. I am really just so sorry. I had just been on the phone with my dad earlier yesterday evening and I was so angry. I'm so sorry." Damon trembled._

_Elena heard the vulnerability in his voice. She could hear his voice crack and she knew that he was feeling upset._

_Elena lingered in the doorway, staring at him at his most innocent. _

_"Thank you for your apology, Damon." Elena said gently._

_"Thank you for letting me apologise, Elena." Damon replied while smiling._

_"I'm not one to hold grudges." Elena chuckled._

_She had to stop herself from smiling as she saw his face glow with happiness again. It wasn't very often that Damon Salvatore was happy._

_There was a pause between the two. Elena caught Damon's eye and they shared a lingering gaze. She noticed how blue his eyes were and how they gleamed in the early morning sun._

_Their gaze was broken by the sound of Damon's phone ringing._

_"Shit. I have to take this Elena. I'm sorry." Damon frowned._

_Elena smiled and headed towards the door while Damon picked up his phone._

_"Damon Salvatore speaking." Damon's deep voice echoed throughout the room._

_Elena quietly opened the door and left his office, trying not to cause any disturbances. Or trying not to get caught by Caroline. Why did she forgive people so quickly? It was her weakness. Along with blue eyed, dark haired men. Had she really just thought that?_

* * *

It had now been four days since anyone had seen Damon and everyone at the office was getting concerned. Caroline had been talking to Stefan over the last few days and he continually said that he had heard nothing from Damon.

Elena began to grow anxious inside. She thought back to the day at the homeless shelter. She wondered if maybe she could have handled the situation better. Did she really have to just walk away from him? Yes. Yes she did. He was angry. He was rude. She had to reassure herself that she made the right decision.

Elena opened up the front door of her apartment after returning from a tiresome day at work and was greeted by a purring Moke. She stroked the top of his head and he continued to make purring noises. The last few days had been intense for her. She didn't really know where she stood with the work, Damon was missing and Caroline's bachelorette party was this weekend. There were just a lot of things on her mind.

Elena stepped into the shower and she felt the hot water electrify her bare skin. She leaned her head back and her hair flowed down her back. The water covered her lengthy locks and Elena massaged shampoo into her scalp, feeling pure bliss. She probably ran up an expensive water bill for the hour long shower she took, but she didn't care because she felt a sense of refreshment and purity afterwards.

She slid a towel around her wet body and brushed her delicate hair.

Elena slipped into her pyjamas and buried herself onto the sofa just in time to watch her favourite television show. She cuddled up closer to her blankets and laid her head back onto a soft cushion. She slowly closed her eyes and felt a sense of comfort within. Moke yelled from the other room and wondered the apartment aimlessly for a few minutes before deciding where his thrown was. He jumped up onto the sofa next to Elena and curled his head deep into the collection of blankets that Elena was currently the holder of.

Elena felt at home snuggling up to Moke and the background noise of the television comforted her. Her sense of inner peace was disturbed by a knock at the door which startled her and Moke. Elena looked confused and wondered to herself about the possibilities of who it could be. After all it was 10pm. No one would normally visit her at 10pm. Not even Caroline or Bonnie. They would always call first.

Elena trudged over towards to door with a blanket still wrapped around her and she opened the door with one swift pull.

She observed the man standing at her door and she gazed in awe at who stood in front of her.

"Damon?" Elena seemed shocked to see him at her door step.

"Elena." Damon quietly replied.

"Wha? What are you doing here? Are you alright?" Elena seemed to forget about the events of the previous days and seemed more concerned about if he was ok or not.

Damon looked down as if he was ashamed to be at her door.

"I...I'm sorry." Damon looked down again and he turned around, slowly walking away from her door.

"Damon wait!" Elena hesitated.

Damon stopped and turned around to face her.

"Would you like to come in?"


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Quick update! WOOO! Thank you to Jocey who has supported me and encouraged me to update quickly. I have been feeling upset today, and this chapter was hard to write. Leave a review! Enjoy. PS: There is a mention of suicide in this chapter (nothing major, I am just trigger warning this)**

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Damon sat on Elena's sofa and stared out the window, watching the raindrops trickle down the glass. He was silent, not turning his head to observe Elena making him coffee in the kitchen. He observed the bright lights in the distance, contemplating the events of the previous few days.

Elena mirrored Damon's silence and didn't say a word while continuing to make his coffee. She walked over and handed him his coffee. He accepted it and let out a faint smile, returning to staring out of the window.

She sat down opposite him and looked down at the floor, wondering what to do. Or what she should say.

"Damon?" Elena let out a whisper.

His face turned slowly to face hers, where he found her deep chestnut eyes staring into his.

Elena coughed. "Drink your coffee. It will get cold soon." she said, breaking the gaze and looking away.

Damon stared down at the drink that Elena had prepared for him and he slowly took a sip, his lips pressing against the top of the mug.

More silence.

After what seemed like forever, Damon lowered his lip from the mug, and placed it on the table in front of him

Elena looked up to find him staring at her.

"I just need to say something Elena." Damon started.

"I am so, so sorry."

Elena heard his voice crack, and she saw that he was uncomfortable doing this. She always wondered if he actually had a heart. She wondered if he felt pain. She wondered what it was like to be Damon Salvatore.

"I'm so sorry for what happened outside the homeless shelter the other day." Damon said.

Elena stayed silent, wondering how to react.

"Where were you? People were concerned Damon!" Elena said.

Damon stared around Elena's apartment, and saw the mess that lay everywhere. He chuckled to himself.

"You know, I have always wondered what fear felt like. What it is like to have fear in my life. Living, day in, day out, with fear." Damon said.

Elena looked confused, listening to Damon's words carefully.

"When in fact, I do know what fear is like, and how it feels, because I have lived in fear every day of my life." Damon continued.

"I have never opened up to anyone. I never thought anyone would want to listen to me and the way I am. Everyone just assumes that I am self centred asshole. Which is true, I am. I never knew my mom. She died when I was two years old and I have no memory of her. My father left when I was three, a year after my mom died. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't handle fathering Stefan and I. We reminded him too much of_ her_. Stefan and I were put up for adoption and a year later, Giuseppe was our legal guardian. He would treat Stefan like the favourite. I was the one left out. The disappointment in the family. He never saw me as a bearer of good. I always brought shame to him. Stefan was always the best in the business and Even to today, he puts me down, calling me a failure. That is my fear... of never being good enough. I have never been good enough for my whole entire life. I managed to build up our company, employing the best of the best, like you. You have this spirit inside of you. I know your parents would have been so proud of you. I have worked so hard for years and my dad is still ashamed of me. To make matters worse, I then I fell in love. I never thought I would. I was not capable of love to anyone. And she broke my heart. I put everything out on the line for her. I risked the whole company, for this one girl. And being at the homeless shelter with you, everything just came crashing down on me. I felt disappointed in myself. I felt... scared." Damon breathed heavily choking on his words.

Elena sat on the sofa in silence.

"D...Damon...I'm so sorry... I." Elena mumbled lost for words.

"Elena, it's fine." Damon stopped her words.

"No, Damon it isn't." Elena shouted.

Damon turned to face Elena.

"None of this is ok." Elena yelled.

Elena breathed heavily and closed her eyes, wondering what to say. She didn't know whether she owed it to Damon to open up to him too. She sat feeling isolated for a moment, until she decided she needed to let it all out.

"It was three years ago." Elena started.

"My parents were returning from a trip in Denver and I was supposed to pick them up from the train station. I completely forgot that I was supposed to pick them that night, and I headed out with my best friends, and we got really drunk. It got to about 8pm and I realised that I was supposed to have picked them up half an hour ago. I left in a hurry and jumped in my car. I was drunk. I was stupid. I..." Elena started to choke.

Regaining her breathe, Elena continued.

"I arrived at the train station to meet my very disappointed parents. It was raining and they were tired and I just left them to stand there for half an hour while I was out drinking. I played the tired act to cover up for my intoxication, however t they were too tired to even care. When we were ten minutes away from home, it started to really pour down and I couldn't see the road ahead because of the fog and the heavy rain. I... it... the car ran off the road when I let go of the wheel for a second." Elena was silent.

"I can remember the day like it was yesterday. I remember waking up in the hospital with my Aunt Jenna and my brother Jeremy in front of me. They were in tears. I couldn't move. I was in a neck brace and I could barely move my mouth, let alone talk. I had to listen to what was going on around me. I heard the cries of Jenna and the tears of Jeremy outside the room and I just knew. They were gone. I had killed my parents. I was in hospital for a week and when I was released, Jeremy had fled. I haven't seen him since I was in hospital three years ago. I lost contact with Jenna. My best friends who got me drunk that night haven't spoken to me in years. I was on the verge of giving up. I contemplated suicide and just ending my life. I couldn't take it. Everything was gone. Everything had been taken away from me. It was my entire fault. So, I then moved to New York. I wondered if I would be able to start over. I met Bonnie and then you hired me. It was a chance to forget the past, and move on, however hard that may have been. To this day, I battle with the the fact that I killed my parents. I... I killed... I killed..." Elena started to breathe heavily, feeling herself losing control.

"I killed... I killed my parents. I KILLED THEM!" Elena screamed getting up from the sofa. She walked around her living room feeling out of control.

"I killed them. I KILLED THEM. I KILLED MY PARENTS." Elena yelled.

Damon felt tears well up in his eyes as he rushed over to Elena's side.

"Elena. Elena I need you to calm down." He soothed her back in comfort.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, I CAN'T. I KILLED MY PARENTS. I KILLED THEM. DAMON... DAMON I KILLED THEM!" Elena screamed while falling on the floor in tears.

Damon knelt on the floor next to where Elena was screaming.

"Elena! Elena! Listen to me. Everything is going to be alright. Breathe. Just breathe for me." Damon said.

Elena yelled some more before nestling her head onto Damon's chest.

"I killed them... I... I." Elena stopped and turned to face Damon.

"They're gone. They are dead"

She stared into Damon's eyes, tears pouring out from hers.

"Shhh... it's ok, Elena. Everything is going to be ok." Damon whispered while wiping her tears off her delicate face. They both shared a longing gaze, and he tucked a piece of hair around her ear, removing it from her face.

"I... I'm so sorry Damon." Elena said while standing up hastily.

"This is really unprofessional of me." She continued.

"I shouldn't break down like that in front of you. I'm so sorry." Elena began to panic again.

Damon shook his head in disagreement.

"Elena don't say that. You needed someone to comfort you. If anything, I'm sorry. I opened up to you. I started it." Damon said.

Elena slumped down on the sofa, nestling her face into a blanket. Damon followed her over to the sofa and sat down beside her.

"I really hope you are ok Elena. Just know that I am here for you. Always." Damon exclaimed.

There was a deafening silence throughout the apartment before Elena's voice broke it.

"I... I have never actually told anyone that. I never told Caroline, or Bonnie. I've never opened up like that to anyone. They were all too afraid to ask me about it. And I was too scared to answer. I tell Moke. He listens to me." Elena titled her head in the direction of a sleeping Moke on the armchair opposite the TV.

"Well I've never told anyone either. I have never tell anyone about my dad or my mom. Everyone assumes that I am not a nice person." Damon looked up, and stared at Elena, the vulnerable girl in front of her.

"I guess it's a good thing we did." Elena said shyly.

"I always knew there was something about you Gilbert." Damon said. "Something quite fascinating."

Elena timidly smiled, avoiding eye contact with his dreamy eyes. Had she just thought about his dreamy eyes?

Elena coughed, breaking their gaze.

"Are you hungry?" she exclaimed.

Damon saw Elena jump up and she walked into the kitchen, grabbing a takeout menu.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Damon smiled.

"I order takeout way too often." Elena smiled.

Damon chuckled to himself, refraining from commenting on the fact that she had a great figure, and she wasn't really sure why she would be worried about that.

Elena scanned the menu and grabbed the phone off the counter.

"Hey it's Elena! Yep, just the regular! Thanks George! Bye." Elena hung up the phone.

Damon stared at Elena after she placed the phone on the counter again.

"Well I certainly know what you mean now when you say you're a regular!" Damon laughed.

"Shut up! Just because they know my name because I order from them way too often, doesn't mean you get to judge!" Elena laughed running back to the couch.

"I wasn't judging! I was merely commenting!" Damon smirked, catching Elena's attention as she jumped next to him on the couch.

She smiled at him, realising that she hadn't really seen him smile properly. It had always been after rude or sexual comments. She admired his genuine smile before leaping off the sofa again.

"So, which movie shall we watch?" Elena questioned.

"Oh, so we are watching a movie now?" Damon laughed.

Elena gathered all her favourite movies that she knew Damon would love and picked them up from under the television. She was sure that Damon was observing her ass from behind, and she chuckled to herself at the thought of it.

"It's a Gilbert family tradition!" Elena squealed while jumping up from under the TV.

Elena showed Damon the DVD's and they playfully argued over which one to watch. They eventually decided and settled on an old comedy movie, sure to lighten both of their moods.

Twenty minutes into the movie, the doorbell rang, startling both of them.

"That'd be our dinner!" Damon announced.

"No shit!" Elena laughed getting up from the sofa.

"No need to be sassy!" Damon explained.

Elena laughed and opened the door, paying the man some money, and putting the dinner on the table in front of her.

"Pizza. How original!" Damon said sarcastically.

Elena playfully slapped his arm.

"OW!" Damon yelled.

"That didn't hurt! And plus, you deserved it!" Elena giggled.

Damon sighed and looked sad, and Elena grew concerned and just when she was about to ask if he was ok, he threw a pillow in her face.

"Gotcha!" he laughed.

"Right, that's it!" Elena grabbed another pillow from behind her and smacked it right in Damon's face.

Elena kept giggling to Damon's reactions to the pillow hitting him, while they continued to hit each other back and forth. Damon ended up falling on the floor in laughter, while continuing to hit Elena. Moke grew quite scared and he wondered off to Elena's bedroom, ignoring the mess that was currently taking place in the living room.

Damon defended himself from the floor, when Elena lost her balance in the midst of being ambushed by pillows, and she fell straight on top of him.

They both laughed and she caught her breathe while lying on top of him. She could hear his heavy breathing and she heard his heart beat through his skin. They shared a lingered stare, and Damon gazed into Elena's eyes, still laughing from all the fun they had just encountered.

Elena still lay breathless, in silence, lying on top of him. _Her boss_. She lay on top of _her boss._

"Uh, I... You should go." Elena coughed.

Elena jumped up from the floor, and Damon followed in synchronisation.

"This was... fun. Thank you for this Elena. I really needed it." Damon explained.

"You're welcome." Elena let out a small smile.

"Good night Elena. Enjoy your pizza." Damon laughed.

Elena felt herself laughing as well, even though she tried to refrain herself from doing so.

"Goodnight Damon." Elena said.

She shut the door and stared around her apartment for a second. Moke jumped off her bed and joined her in the living room.

"Oh don't you dare give me that look Moke!" Elena yelled at her cat. _Her cat._

Moke walked off with a cheeky grin on his face, retreating to Elena's bed.

Elena stared at the pillows that lay on the floor, reminiscing that only a few minutes ago, she had been laying on top of her boss, laughing, out of breathe. She shuddered at the thought.

She knew was that it was wrong. She knew that he was her boss. But for the first time in years, she had actually laughed. _She had laughed_. And laughter didn't come very easy for Elena.


End file.
